


Wait For It

by dragonwings948



Series: Doctor Who Series 10 [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Episode: s10e03 Thin Ice, Escape, Friendship, Memories, Serial: s060 Day of the Daleks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 23:04:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10796601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwings948/pseuds/dragonwings948
Summary: As Bill and the Doctor attempt to escape from Lord Sutcliffe's carriage, the Doctor remembers an old companion who he was stuck with in a similar situation...





	Wait For It

**Author's Note:**

> As soon as Bill and the Doctor walked out of that carriage still tied up in the episode, I said "Three and Jo would be ashamed of you two. You were back to back! You totally could have untied each other." And so this fic was born.

            The Doctor felt Bill’s shoulders push against his and he braced his legs against the door of the carriage in an attempt to stop himself from smashing against the window. As a grunt of frustration from Bill followed, the Doctor figured that she was trying to escape from her bonds.

            “There has to be some way out,” she said, leaning away from him.

            “Oh yes,” the Doctor began in a fake cheerful voice, “It’s just like in the movies, where the ropes magically come loose and you’re able to escape!”

            There was a short silence filled only by the wheels of the carriage clicking against cobblestone, and the Doctor imagined Bill rolling her eyes.

            “But we’re back to back. Can’t you untie me?”

            The Doctor’s wrists were beginning to throb with the tightness of the ropes. No doubt Bill was feeling it too. He hopped backwards until their shoulders were touching again and reached for one of the knots around her wrist. He outlined the knot with the tip of his finger, trying to picture what it looked like.

            Unfortunately, however, one thing the Doctor had never been good at was untying rope. He had always relied on his sonic screwdriver to get him out of scrapes like this. And, depending on where Lord Sutcliffe was taking them, the Doctor figured that the sonic still might come in handy.

            The Doctor dropped his hands. “These are very good knots.”

            “Yeah,” Bill said in a strained voice, and once again the Doctor figured that she was trying to loosen the ropes.

            “Don’t do that. It will only make it worse.”

            Bill huffed, and the force of her dropping back down to her seat shook the carriage, though it was hardly noticeable with the steady rocking from the horses’ trotting. “Sorry,” Bill muttered. “Maybe I could try.”

            The Doctor knew very well that she wouldn’t get anywhere with the ropes either, but he said nothing because the fibres really were starting to cut into his skin. He felt Bill’s fingers brush against his palms before latching onto the ropes.

            A memory suddenly came back to the Doctor, throwing him off guard. It happened all the time, of course; he had over two thousand years of memories, and certain things were bound to trigger them. But this was a very old memory, something he hadn’t touched in a long, long time.

            He was in a dark place that smelled of mustiness. He could feel cold fingers tugging at the restraints around his wrists, just like Bill was doing now. But that was all. There was nothing else.

            “Nothing,” Bill announced, bringing the Doctor back to reality. “Doubt anyone could untie that, it’s pretty tight.”

            “Hm.” The Doctor agreed with a hum because he was mostly preoccupied with the fact that her words had furthered his memory from moments ago.

            _These knots are rock hard!_

            Finally the Doctor could hear her voice in his head and he smiled, but then frowned. How long had it been since he had thought about Jo Grant? Years? Decades? Even longer still since he had seen her.

            _Are you really two thousand years old?_

            He was much, much too old. When he had lived long enough to forget someone like Josephine Grant…it was too long.

            Bill sighed. “So if we can’t escape then what do we do?”

            “The only thing we can do.” The Doctor smiled a little. “Wait.”

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who haven't watched Jo's run, (if you haven't then you really should, she's fantastic) the theme of "waiting" was a sort of inside joke between the Third Doctor and Jo. Jo was a woman of action, always wanting to do something, anything, to feel like she was contributing. She and the Third Doctor often found themselves in situations where they could do absolutely nothing, however, and the Doctor always told her to wait and be patient. What I imagined happening in the carriage in Thin Ice reminded me of this. :)


End file.
